Kidd Coaches First Game With Nets and Picks Up First Technical

In huddles, Jason Kidd relayed Lawrence Frank’s plays to the team. Kidd played in his final N.B.A. game just 50 days earlier.Credit
Gary Bogdon for The New York Times

ORLANDO, Fla. — The greatest point guard in Nets history quietly shifted into the next stage of his career Sunday night, in a 150-by-100-foot gymnasium in the shadow of Interstate 4. There were no screaming fans to witness the event, no cheerleaders or T-shirt cannons, no blaring music and no bellowing public-address announcer.

Jason Kidd made his N.B.A. coaching debut without a proper introduction. Also, without a proper N.B.A. team.

The game was part of the Orlando Summer League, a 10-team tournament for rookies and developing players. The site was the Magic’s practice court, tucked into a tight corner of the towering Amway Center. The games are closed to the public, creating a more intimate atmosphere where about 150 spectators — mostly team executives, scouts and reporters — can hear every shoe squeak and every barked instruction from the bench.

Kidd, the Nets’ newly installed coach, did his share of barking Sunday in a 76-67 loss to the Detroit Pistons. He instructed, applauded, cajoled and occasionally smiled. He also received a technical foul, for wandering outside the coaching box late in the fourth quarter. Actually, he wandered way outside — beyond midcourt and into the playing area, where the referee Curtis Blair promptly blew his whistle.

“So it’s a lesson learned, that I know I can’t go past halfcourt,” Kidd said later with a wry grin, drawing laughter. “Hey, I’ve seen some of these coaches be all the way down on the other end. I can’t follow their lead in that aspect. I learned really quickly where the box is.”

It will surely be the first of many lessons for Kidd, who played in his final N.B.A. game just 50 days earlier. There are schemes to install, philosophies to develop, timeouts to manage. These things take time, even for a basketball genius who could see plays unfold before anyone else on the court.

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Jason Kidd, second from left, leaned on his assistant Lawrence Frank, left. John Welch, third from left, is expected to join the staff.Credit
Gary Bogdon for The New York Times

“This is summer school for me,” Kidd said. “So hopefully, I’m going in the right direction.”

Kidd retired June 3 after 19 seasons. Nine days later, the Nets stunned the league by naming him their coach, placing him in charge of a talent-rich roster with title aspirations. The talent and the expectations only increased when the Nets made a deal to acquire Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in late June.

This week, Kidd is coaching relative neophytes for five games. The summer league roster includes Tyshawn Taylor and Toko Shengelia, who just completed their rookie seasons with the Nets; Mason Plumlee, their first-round draft pick; and a cast of hopefuls who will probably end up in the Development League.

Kidd is the only N.B.A. coach who is coaching his own team here. But at this stage, he needs all the on-the-job training he can get. For now, he is leaning heavily on his staff — in particular Lawrence Frank, his lead assistant, who was Kidd’s coach for four-plus seasons with the Nets during the mid-2000s.

Frank sat to Kidd’s right. To Kidd’s left was John Welch, a former longtime assistant to George Karl who is expected to be named to the staff soon. Both were active and vocal during the game.

During timeouts, it was often Frank who drew up plays on the hand-held grease board, while motioning and talking to Kidd, away from the bench. Kidd would then enter the huddle, take a seat and impart the play to his team.

“I’m going to lean on my staff,” Kidd said, “Not just L-Frank, but Welch will get in there with the board a little bit. A lot of guys bring a lot to the table.”

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Jason Kidd and his Nets after the summer-league game, a 76-67 loss to the Detroit Pistons.Credit
Gary Bogdon for The New York Times

Kidd noted that summer league timeouts last 60 seconds, a half-minute shorter than in the regular season, increasing the degree of difficulty for a rookie head coach to draw up a play.

“Once I can get comfortable with that and be able to get everybody’s name in the right spot, we’ll be fine,” he said.

The change of job descriptions also demands an adjustment in demeanor. When Plumlee threw down a driving two-handed dunk early in the game, Kidd leapt to his feet to cheer then quickly sat back down, smiling and chuckling a bit. Later, when Plumlee blew a dunk, Kidd simply applauded encouragement. He yelled out defensive signals, but sometimes he was outshouted by the energetic Frank.

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“I think he did a great job,” Taylor said. “I think he was real positive with us.”

In huddles, Taylor said, Kidd’s tone was no different from what it would be for a news conference — “Like, mad soft-spoken, just cool.”

Taylor said the division of labor between Kidd and Frank worked well.

“You know, Coach Frank is a mastermind when it comes to drawing up plays and things like that, so I think Coach Kidd was talking to us mostly about defense,” Taylor said.

Down the stretch, the Nets intentionally fouled Andre Drummond, the Pistons’ poor-shooting big man. Drummond, who played last year under Frank, said he was not surprised.

“Look at their coach, Lawrence Frank,” Drummond said with a smile. “So he knows.”

Drummond was joking, but it may indeed take some time before everyone gets used to the idea of Jason Kidd, head coach. That includes Kidd, who was not sure how to respond when asked if it felt normal.

“Didn’t it look normal?” he said with a grin. “O.K., well, we’re working on it. I felt great.”

A version of this article appears in print on July 8, 2013, on Page D2 of the New York edition with the headline: Kidd Steps Back Onto the Court. Now, He Realizes, That’s Illegal. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe